Two interpretations?
Does the underlined part contain two interpretations?
1) Literal: Put his book back to the bookshelf.
2) Figurative: Let him know who he is ( cut him down to size)
Marcel Proust claims that books, at least as company, are really superior to friends. One need engage in no small tall with a book, as Proust noted, no greetings in the hall or excuses for delayed meetings. With books, unlike with friends, no sense of obligation exists. We are with them only because we absolutely wish to be with them. Nor do we have to laugh, politely, at their attempts at wit. When he bores us, we are not afraid to appear bored, and we put him back in his place as if he had neither genius nor fame.
Top answer
teacherJapan Does the underlined part contain two interpretations? No. teacherJapan 1) Literal: Put his book back to the bookshelf.
- teacherJapan Does the underlined part contain two interpretations?
- No.
- teacherJapan 1) Literal: Put his book back to the bookshelf.
- Right, but we put books back on the bookshelf.
- teacherJapan 2) Figurative: Let him know who he is ( cut him down to size) The interjection of "back" destroys that interpretation.
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teacherJapanDoes the underlined part contain two interpretations?
No.
teacherJapan1) Literal: Put his book back to the bookshelf.
Right, but we put books back on the bookshelf.
teacherJapan2) Figurative: Let him know who he is ( cut him down to size)
The interjectio
0teacherJapanDoes the underlined part contain two interpretations?
I'd say so. A book can't be referred to as "him", so it's obviously not literal.
And yet the literal meaning fits the idea in the text.
Is this a translation from French? I ask because "put it back in its place" (literal, of a book) and "put him in his place" (figurative, of a p
0
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